Machine for making expander steel



' Dec."3l, 1929. G. c. BECK 1,741,905

MACHINE FOR MAKING EXPANDER STEEL Filed March 18, 192'! 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR G'evrye 6,360 BY N @OZMTKSIEY Dec. 31, 1929. G. c. BECK MACHINE FOR MAKING EXPANDER STEEL Filed March 18, 192

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR George 6?,360"

Patented Dec. 31, 1929 GEORGE C. BECK, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON MACHINE FOR MAKING EXPANDER STEEL Application filed March 18, 1927. Serial No. 176,562.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel machine for corrugatlng spring steel strips into various contours desirable to render them effective as piston ring expanders. J ,A further object of the improved machine is to cause the formed steel to assume a curved contour, whereby an article of manufacture results.

These ring expanders are made of relative- 1 ly thin steel and the operation of corrugating the steelstrips is carried on without heating the strips, hence, it is a cold method.

I The machine of my invention involves means for forming the corrugations, of whatever form is desired, and after the corrugations are formed, the machine involves a separate operation on the strip, as formed, with a View of causing the formedstrip to assume a curved contour. and in the present case, this 2 0 latter feature is carried out by slightly altering one of the corrugated integers.

It is a feature of my invention to provide means whereby corrugated integers of the formed strip are securely held, without changing the form thereof, in such a manner that the strip cannot move while the process of altering other corrugated integers is being carried out. i

The invention will be more fully described 30. in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be more particularly pointed out in and by the appended claims.

, In the drawings;

Fig. 1, is a view in side elevation of the 3 forming means and illustrating the shaping means retracting from the formed strip.

Fig. 2, is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, showing the shaping means functioning to shape an integer of the formed strip.

Fig. 3, is a sectional View on line 3 -3 of F ig. 2, with the forming wheels in elevation. Fig. 4, is a sectional viewon line Le of Fig. 2, showing the shaping means in a function'ing position.

Fig. 5, is a view of a set of forming wheels for making a longer bend or corrugation.

Fig. 6, is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the formedstrip before the same is shaped. p

Fig. 7 is an enlarged edge view thereof.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged edge view of the strip showing an integer thereof shaped to cause the strip to assume a curved contour,

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout the difi'erent figures of the drawings.

In the'following description, and as shown in the drawings, .themachine will be referred to as being designed to make substantially the type of corrugation shown in my U. S. Patent No. 1,534,490, issued April 21, 1925. However, it will be clear that by merely changing the shape of the forming means and the shaping means, the invention is equally adapted for the manufacture of expander spring steel strips with other shapes of corrugations, hence. in this respect, I do not wish to be limited in all respects to. the exact and specific form of the invention herein shown.

I have shown a frame which may consist of side walls 1 having suitable journals 2, in which a power driven shaft 3 bears, only one wall and journal being shown. On shaft 3, is suitably mounted any form of crankwhich may be a disc 4. as shown, the same being con-, centric-ally mounted on said shaft. A crank pin 5, is eccentrically mounted on disc 4 and I connect thereto one end of a forming wheel actuating pawl 6, as shown at 7. .A guiding stud 8. guides said pawl 6 in a manner to intermittently actuate the forming wheels, to be later described. I have shown a presser head arm 9, pivoted to the frame 1, at 10, and having a presser or shaper head 11, to be later described. Said arm 9 is actuated to be moved upwardly and downwardly by a power link 12, the lower end of which is pivoted at 13, to said arm, andthe upper end of which is connected on said pin 5.

Reference will next be made to the improved forming means.

My improved forming means involves a' setof wheels 14 and 15, which are rotatable on studs 16 and 17, respectively, which studs may be mounted on frame 1. Said wheels 14. and 15. have intermeshing teeth 18 and 19, respectively, which are strip forming por tions or elements, the spaces 20 and 21, re spectively, between said teeth being also forming elements. This mesh relationof the wheels 14 and 15, insures their rotation in unison, the lower one being operated by the upper one thereof. As shown, the right hand en of pawl 6, engages the uppermost teeth of wheel 14, and every time the disc 4, makes a half revolution in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 1, the wheels 1 and will be rotatedthe extent of one tooth, and will form one corrugated integer of the strip.- On'the 1y" outwardly inthe piston groove, the outer sections, and wiilindicate them at24, each cornprising one integer ofthe formed strip. It will be noted that sections 24 are convexed- 1y formed so that'whentensioned against the 96 piston ring, they will be slightly flattenedby reasonof the fact tha'tthey are arched" on a smaller radius than the radius of the piston ring with which they coact. Likewise, when the inner sections25, leave. the forming rolls 14 and 15, they are convexly arched radially inwardly toward the base of the pistonring groove which they are designed'to engage. IZwill'designate the intermediate supporting sections as 26, and,it will be seenthat these sections are disposed nearly radial so that the will support or stiffen the sections 24 a'ndiQfi; The teeth of the wheels let and 15, are shaped to .form a strip having these elongated outer and inner sections 24 and 25, and the intermediate supporting sections 26, as will now be clear, andI Will-refer to each litend or section asan integer. of the formed S II in. no way treated after leaving wheels 14 and 15,itwo11ld be a straight strip, andit would be necessary tobend a cut. portion thereof to fit a iston groove. This 15 considered such a de ect that specially bent and previously ctitexpander steel is now being sold. Besides this defect, it is usually found best" to roll the formed steelon a spool in order to get'it in cohvenient' and compact shape. for the market and shipment; Thus, when a, me. cltariic gets read tonse it, and releases the roll of; spring steel, the latter instantly seeks td straighten (out, inuch the same as a clock spring when releas'edifrorn a tensionedconditi I b$v it is the object of my invention to l the formed "strip, as shown in- Fig. 7, was.

make a completely formed corrugated strip of piston expanding spring steel in such a manner that the finished steel will take a curved contour so that when a length is cut off for a piston groove, this length will readily fit in the groove. In fact, the curve of the finished steel may be on such a short radius that a length cut oii, willact-ually hug the groove-- when once placed therein, thereby leaving the; mechanic free to spread the ring over the piston without also having to hold the steeliin the groove.

I will next refer to that portion of the invention which performs this function.

hat I will term an anvil, is designated at 27, and is removably secured to frame 1, by screws 28. This anvil 27 haswhat I will term a holding portion 29, which, as will be seen" from Fig. 2, is shaped to correspond and receive one integer 24, and a part of integer 25, togetherwith an intermediate integer 26; Of course, this holding portion may be extended to receive more. of the formed strip than is herein shown but the important thing is that the holding portion 29 is shaped to receive the strip without changing the shape otthe strip portion engaged thereby. In other words, the portion 29, functions solely as a holding portion. Contiguous with this holding portion 29,,is a shaping portion 30, and the latter is so positionedthat when the integers 24 to 26am disposed upon the holding portion 29, the next endmost-adjacent intege'r 25, will engage the shaping portion 30, as in accordance with this specific form of the invention, I concentrate the shaping operation only on sections or integers 25, which, will be seen, are the inner sections of the strip shown. Now it will be seen that the inner sections or integers 25, when the formed strip leaves the wheels 14 and15, are con vexed radially inwardly, as will be seen from Fig. 7. The shaping portion 30, is convex, with a view of changing the shape of sections from the inwardly convex form shown in Fig.7,to the outwardly convex form shown in Fig. 8'. The coacting or companion element of the shaping means is the presser head'll, which is provided with holding portion 31', complemental to the holding portion 29 of the anvil, to securely hold a portion of the strip while the latter is bein reshaped. The head 11, is also provided with a shaping portion 32, which coacts with the shaping portion 30.

. From the foregoing, it willnow be clear that by reversing the convexity. ofthe sections 25, I cause the strip to assume a curved form when it leaves the shaping means, as generally indicatedin Fig. 2. The extent and character. of the reshaping may be varied as desired, either as regards the form of strip shown, or as regards other strips, orstrips of other form. In the present instance,.the reverse convexity of sections'25, is made on steel. However, I claim it is novel, to form portions of a size corresponding tothe size 0 sections formed in the strip. Thus,bythe sima radius greater than the radius of the piston groove so that the inner sections will be flexed when engaged by the base of the piston ring groove, thereby enhancing the expanding re siliency of the strip and avoiding sharp bends or corners. In other words, the sections 25, while shaped toward the round of the surface with which they are to coact, still, they are not so nearly concentric therewith but that they will be put under tension when engaged therewith. I find in actual practice, that I can curve the formed strip by only modifying alternate sections thereof and that it is not necessary to modify each and every section.

It will now be clear that when a mechanic starts to use my improved curved strip, it will not unwind and expand, but will readily facilitate its own insertion into the piston ring groove. It will also be clear, that by means of this improved method and mechanism, the strip may be severed into definite lengths and be sold as cut strips, or cut an expander steel strip and cause the formed strip to assume a curved form for any indefinite length.

At the present time, it is the practice to provide spring steel of this character in widths of one quarter inch, three sixteenths and one eighth inch, and personally, I make each width in light, medium, and heavy tempered steel. Thus, I require nine varieties of raw material. To reduce the-variety of raw material necessary, it is a feature of this invention to provide means for relatively lengthening or shortening the sections 24 and 25. to get a different, or a variety of different tensioned strip material out of a greatly decreased variety of raw material.

Thus, in Fig. 5, I have shown a set of forming wheels 33 and 34;, having teeth 35 and 36, respectively, which operate in the same manner as wheels 14 and 15, but the number of teeth per wheel is less, and the teeth, as will be seen, are elongated so as to form the sections 24 and 25 of greater length than do the wheels 14: and 15. i I would also replace anvil 27, and head 11, for others of like nature but having holding and shapin ple expedient of changing the toothed wheels, and changing the anvil and presser head and arm, I can, in one machine, produce expander strips of a variety of tension from a greatly reduced variety of raw material. 7

It may be stated that I employ the same width of toothed wheels for all widths of strips.

It will now be clear that while the disc 4 is rotating clockwise, viewing Fig. 1, it is lifting the presser head 11, away from the anvil and is about to advance the wheels 14 and 15, the distance of one tooth thereof, or

any desired distance dependent upon the 10- cationof the anvil and presser head andthe length of the sections formed in the strip. After. the v wheels have been actuatechthen, friction holds them in the position from .which they have been released. As the pin 5 begins its downward movement, the presser head 11 is moved downwardly toward the anvil, as shown in Fig. 2, until .it comes into pressure engagement therewith. As the pin 5 passes over the lower dead center, the final and maximum pressure is applied, firmly holding certain sections of the strip, and bending the remaining section. Thus, the forming means is idle when the shaping means is functioning and the shaping means is idle while the forming means is function ing.

It is believed that my invention will be fully understood from the foregoingdescription, and I do not wish to be limited thereto except forsuch limitations as the claims may import.

I claim: 1. In a machine for making spring steel expander stock, coacting intermeshing rolls for forming a spring steel strip into oppositely disposed bearing, sections, and mechanism for intermittently actuating said rolls to form and advance the formed strip and shaping the formed strip to cause the latter to assume a curved contour. 1 i

2. Ina machinefor making spring steel expander stock, intermeshing rolls shaped to form an interposed spring steel strip into oppositely disposed outer and inner bearing sections, a fixed anvil having an outer sectionholding portion and an inner section shaping portion, a pivotally mounted shaping presser head having an inner section shaping facecoacting with said anvil, a driving cam,.a link operatively connecting said head with said cam, and a roll actuating pawl driv'- en by said Cam. 7 I

.3. In a machine for making spring steel expander stock, rotary means for forming a spring steel strip into oppositely disposed outer and inner: bearing sections, and pivot ally mounted mechanism for shaping the formed inner sectionsto cause the finished strip to assume a curved contour. 1

4. In a machine for making spring steel expander stock, means for corrugating a spring steel strip to form alternately and oppositely disposed elongated outer and inner bearing sections connected by intermediate supporting sections, an anvil over which the formed strip is intermittently advanced section by section, said anvil having a holding portion shaped to fit the formed sections and said anvil also having a shaping portion adapted to alter the form of said inner sections, and a presser head having a holding portionshaped to coact with the holding portion of said anvil to securely hold the strip,

iio

T w U and said head having a shaping portion coacting with the shapingportion of said anvil to bend said innersections radially outwardly and thereby cause the finished strip to assume 5 a curved contour radially inwardly withrespect to said outer sections.

5. In a machine for making spring steel stock for expanding plstonrings, means for corrugating a spring steel strip-in a substanb tially straight. condition to form outer bearing sections adapted for engagement with a iston ring and inwardly arched inner bearmg sections adapted to engage the base of a ring groove and intermediate supporting sec- 1 tions, and mechanism for sufiiciently reversing the arch of each inner bearing sectionto cause the formed; strip to assume a curved contour with the outer sections disposed radially outwardly, whereby said reshaped inner sections will better fit the convex base of the ring groove.

6. In a machine for shaping. spring steel stock for expanding piston rings, means for corrugating a spring steel strip into alter- 5 nately disposedlouter and inner bearing sections withthe innersections elongated, and mechanism for arching said inner sections outwardly on radii slightly less thanthe .radius of the base of a piston groove and sufficiently to causethe reshaped and formed strip to assume a curved contour with the outer sections disposed radially outwardly and'theinner sections disposedlradially inwardly to facilitate locationof a length of a 3 said strip in the groove of a piston.

7. In a machine for making expander steel, means for forming a spring steel stripvinto a series of outwardly disposed androutward arched and elongated rin bearing sections I andinto inwardly dispose elongated and inwardly arched piston groove bearing. sections, and: mechanism for consecutively and individually bending said inwardly disposed sections outwardly, thereby shaping'sai'din F5 wardly disposed Electionv to fit the piston ves and causingsaid formedstrip to assumo acontinuously curved contour. h

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

J I) GEORGE G. BECK.- 

